If you ask us, public transportation should be the first one to get fully electrified to which you can add taxis too. However, using all-electric buses and cars to haul people around town might be difficult because of their limited range. That’s why plug-in hybrid powertrains seem to be the perfect choice for now.
Speaking of which, Volvo just unveiled its new 7900 plug-in hybrid bus to show the world how it could change life in the city.
The first thing that comes to mind is emissions reduction. Yes, that’s true, since the bus reduces the fuel consumption and carbon dioxide by up to 75%, but some other benefits are at stake too.
For example, if all the buses in a city will turn into PHEVs (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles) noise pollution will go down a bit, since there will be a considerably smaller number of diesel engines to rumble around.
And because of this, buses will also be able to enter residential areas or even stop indoors in malls or airports, which seems a great thing for when the weather is nasty.
The new Volvo PHEV bus will be powered by a 19 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that feeds a 150 kW electric motor boasting 1,200 Nm (885 lb-ft) of torque. The system can offer a range of about 10 km (6.2 miles), which basically represents the average distance between charging stations.
About the recharging part, this will be done using a new roof system that connects to a rapid charging system and fill up the battery in about 6 minutes. Still, if the bus runs out of electricity in between the charging point, a high efficiency 240 hp/918 Nm Volvo D5K 240 four-cylinder diesel engine can kick in at any moment to drive the vehicle.
The first thing that comes to mind is emissions reduction. Yes, that’s true, since the bus reduces the fuel consumption and carbon dioxide by up to 75%, but some other benefits are at stake too.
For example, if all the buses in a city will turn into PHEVs (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles) noise pollution will go down a bit, since there will be a considerably smaller number of diesel engines to rumble around.
And because of this, buses will also be able to enter residential areas or even stop indoors in malls or airports, which seems a great thing for when the weather is nasty.
The new Volvo PHEV bus will be powered by a 19 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that feeds a 150 kW electric motor boasting 1,200 Nm (885 lb-ft) of torque. The system can offer a range of about 10 km (6.2 miles), which basically represents the average distance between charging stations.
About the recharging part, this will be done using a new roof system that connects to a rapid charging system and fill up the battery in about 6 minutes. Still, if the bus runs out of electricity in between the charging point, a high efficiency 240 hp/918 Nm Volvo D5K 240 four-cylinder diesel engine can kick in at any moment to drive the vehicle.